Filmmaking

HAROLD PINTER, R.I.P.

By Scott Macaulay on Dec 26, 2008 Filmmaking
HOW TO BLOG

Over at Slate, Farhad Manjoo has up a nice piece entitled “How to Blog.” After noting that the very clever editors of the Huffington Post has published a book, The Huffington Post Complete Guide to Blogging, Manjoo asks some of his own colleagues for their advice on the medium. Here’s one useful tip: Don’t worry if your posts suck a little. Unless you’re Jeffrey Goldberg, your first blog post is unlikely to be perfect. Indeed, a lot of your posts aren’t going to be as great as they could be if you spent many hours on them—and that’s OK. Felix […]

By Scott Macaulay on Dec 26, 2008 Filmmaking
BILL LANDIS, R.I.P.

Bill Landis, a man who championed the world of underground exploitation moviemaking and exhibition, died this week of a heart attack at 49. With his wife Michelle Clifford he was the editor of Sleazoid Express, a zine that chronicled the films of the 42nd Street grindhouse scene, which he described in an interview at Nerve.com: Grind houses were opulent, old-style movie palaces with chandeliers, opera seats and huge screens. They seated several hundred people and played all kinds of films, across genres. A shoebox theater catered to the adult audience, seated eighty to 200, usually on one floor, and was […]

By Scott Macaulay on Dec 26, 2008 Filmmaking
FILMMAKER YEAR IN REVIEW: DAMON SMITH

Damon Smith, who has contributed several feature interviews as well as, under his Filmcatcher affiliation, produced various videos we’ve presented on the site, sends his thoughts, below. Top Ten The ClassParanoid ParkMan on WireHappy-Go-Lucky35 RhumsRepriseWaltz with BashirTulpanSugarMunyurangaboBallastEncounters at the End of the WorldMy Winnipeg In a year that brought a wealth of new work by established filmmakers such as Mike Leigh, Gus Van Sant, Guy Maddin, and Werner Herzog, as well as exquisite follow-up efforts by James Marsh, Laurent Cantet, and Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden, it’s hard to be sanguine about lists. But three indelible, goose-bump-raising sequences will mark […]

By Scott Macaulay on Dec 24, 2008 Filmmaking
FILMMAKER YEAR IN REVIEW: BRIAN CHIRLS

Brian Chirls, who contributed the piece on Soderbergh’s RED camera post-production in the current issue, weighs in with some of his ’08 personal bests. Best Foreign Film About Food That I Saw at a European Festival Of Which No One I Know In the States Has Ever Heard:Estômago Best Film About Zombies in High SchoolDance of the Dead Best Film of the Year/Best American Film About FoodPoultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead Best Film About Pistachios That I Never Heard From After Its Sundance Premiere (Even Though It’s Not About Cannibalism)Anywhere, USA Best Film That I Never Actually Got Around […]

By Scott Macaulay on Dec 24, 2008 Filmmaking
FILMMAKER YEAR IN REVIEW: NICK DAWSON

In addition to penning features for the magazine — check out his Greg Mottola interview coming up in the next issue — Nick Dawson talks with one director a week for his web-original “Director Interviews” column. Here are his thoughts on 2008. Top Ten The Edge of Heaven, In Search of a Midnight Kiss, London to Brighton, Love Songs, Momma’s Man, My Winnipeg, Reprise (pictured), Silent Light, Synecdoche, New York, Timecrimes. First off, a quick note about the choices for my Top 10. The absence of many of the more critically acclaimed films is a result of the combination of […]

By Scott Macaulay on Dec 23, 2008 Filmmaking
FILMMAKER YEAR IN REVIEW: HOWARD FEINSTEIN

Howard Feinstein, who regularly covers major festivals like Cannes and Toronto as well as contributes feature interviews, weighs in here with his “best of” thoughts. Without second-guessing awards and critics’ choices, I chose as honestly as possible the best of the films that got some kind of release in the U.S. in 2008. Here they are, in no particular order: Alexandra; The Secret of the Grain; Silent Light (pictured); Times and Winds; and Still Life. All are auteurist, all take their own sweet time to lay out narrative and develop characters. They are all from countries — Russia, France, Mexico, […]

By Scott Macaulay on Dec 23, 2008 Filmmaking
FILMMAKER YEAR IN REVIEW: BRANDON HARRIS

Here, Filmmaker contributor Brandon Harris issues his thoughts on 2008 in film. Nothing was ordinary in 2008. As many have noted, a riveting, historic, perhaps transformational election and economic turmoil unlike any seen in several generations seemed to dwarf what was going on within the films we were watching or within the ever evolving business of making and distributing them. Yet, unlike years’ past, I was drawn to films that didn’t so much speak to the inescapable dread and great hope of the historical moment, but films that spoke to more elemental questions – what are the costs of ambition, […]

By Scott Macaulay on Dec 23, 2008 Filmmaking
FILMMAKER YEAR IN REVIEW: NOAH HARLAN

Here are producer Noah Harlan‘s year-end thoughts: I think a lot of people missed Jake Mahaffy’s Wellness (pictured) which won SXSW this year and got a Gotham nomination. Also, I continue to be amazed by what is coming out of Israel. Each year I think that they have peaked and then they produce even more impressive films the next. With films like Beaufort, Jellyfish, The Band’s Visit and Waltz With Bashir they have had an exceptional year with awards (Academy Award nomination, Silver Bear at Berlin, Camera D’Or at Cannes…). Lastly, I think the introduction of the RED Scarlet system […]

By Scott Macaulay on Dec 23, 2008 Filmmaking
FILMMAKER YEAR IN REVIEW: JAMES PONSOLDT

Here’s the next in our Filmmaker contributor ’08 wrap-ups, from James Ponsoldt. So…I don’t like “Best of” lists, or even the idea of “best” being used in regards to films (or any art). I mean, let’s be honest–there’s one reason why we have “Best of” lists: we like to argue. And that’s cool. Arguing is great. But isn’t “favorite” more appropriate than “best”? I think so. Does that sound precious? Eh, I don’t care. These are some of my favorite films, performances, and film moments of 2008. Favorite Film: MilkFavorite Documentary Film (Tie): South Main, Encounters at the End of […]

By Scott Macaulay on Dec 23, 2008 Filmmaking

Cookie	Duration	Description
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional	11 months	The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy	11 months	The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.

Cookie	Duration	Description
cfmrk_cic		Used by Cloudflare to route user traffic for this Site.
sparrow_id		Installed by Cloudflare. Used to identify individual clients behind a shared IP address and apply security settings on a per-client basis. It does not store any personal identifiable information.

Cookie	Duration	Description
OAGEO		Installed by the Revive Ad Server. Used to cache geolocation (session, deleted when closing the browser)
OAID		Installed by the Revive Ad Server to distinguish users.